


The Hidden Stories of Seiros

by thinkwritexpress



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Campfire stories, Gen, golden deer being golden deer, halloween fic, telling scary stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27253954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinkwritexpress/pseuds/thinkwritexpress
Summary: On a mission, the Golden Deer get into the campfire story mood and things get a bit spooky.
Relationships: Hilda Valentine Goneril & My Unit | Byleth, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester & My Unit | Byleth, Marianne von Edmund & My Unit | Byleth, My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth & Ignatz Victor, My Unit | Byleth & Leonie Pinelli, My Unit | Byleth & Linhardt von Hevring, My Unit | Byleth & Lysithea von Ordelia, Raphael Kirsten & My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 10





	The Hidden Stories of Seiros

The mission was supposed to be simple. Rhea wanted you and your team to escort a group of Church emissaries to Alliance territory, as your students were from there. Linhardt asked to accompany you - to question the officials about Crests, he declared- and you were never one to turn down an extra magic user. Plus, aside from his sleepy nature, he seemed like a good kid, and your Golden Deer could use all the positive influences they could get.

The excursion, however, was taking longer than expected. Surprisingly, bandits were few, but there were many demonic beasts hanging about, something none of you had accounted for.

As such, night begins to fall and your group is barely halfway to their destination. Setting up camp, the emissaries stick to themselves, shooing Linhardt away when he tries to speak with them (much to his chagrin). He ends up around the campfire with the rest of your group just as Claude begins his storytelling.

“Teach, have you heard the legend of the Heroes’ Relics yet?” Claude’s voice is clear but his tone indicates the story goes against what the Church of Seiros wants people to believe, as many of Claude’s tales seem to do.

Playing in to his theatrics, you shake your head and rest your chin in your hand. “No, I haven’t, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.” Your tone is playful but interested and he launches into the story, surprisingly one he hasn’t told you before.

“Long ago, the goddess Sothis created her children, draconian beings who could take human form. Only five of their names are remembered: Indech, Macuil, Cichol, Cethleann, and Seiros. Over time, Sothis created humans as well, and they lived in peace… That is until Nemesis rose and killed Sothis, stealing her body to create the first of the Heroes’ Relics: the Sword of the Creator.” Claude pauses for dramatic effect, nodding towards the sword at your feet; the other students turn towards you as well, eyes wide. Their fear seems heightened by the lighting from the flames, leaving parts of their face hidden in darkness.

You glance at the sword at your feet and shudder at its ghoulish form, the eeriness heightened by the firelight casting odd shadows. The idea of weilding Sothis’ bones - the bones of your  _ friend _ \- is unsettling and your stomach even rolls a bit at the thought. 

Satisfied his classmates have become adequately unsettled, Claude continues: “Nemesis carried out test after test on Sothis’ body until he found what he wanted: the perfect way to steal her power. He bent, broke, and molded her bones into a physical weapon, infused her blood into his veins, and crafted her heart into the stone that would connect it all, allowing him to wield his ultimate weapon. Still, Nemesis wanted more. Promising his most trusted warriors a reward beyond their wildest dreams, Nemesis and his ten Elites took an army to destroy Sothis’ children, devastation that became known as the Massacre at Zanado.”

There is a somber pause and you take a moment to look around at your students, looking past the shadows of the low-burning fire. Lysithea is clinging to Ignatz, who looks a bit spooked himself. Lorenz is doing his best to look bored and unaffected, but there’s an undeniable spark of interest in his eyes all the same. Raphael, as usual, is listening while he happily munches on his rations. Leonie has a blank look on her face as she adds some sticks to the fire to keep it burning. Marianne looks a little green, and you can’t blame her; the story makes your own stomach twist. Hilda looks bored as hell, which is normal, but you’re surprised to see Linhardt looking fairly awake and attentive - more than he’s ever been in your class anyway.

Shrugging off that thought, you turn your focus back to Claude, who waits patiently for you to be ready before picking up where he left off.

“After the Massacre, Nemesis used the blood of the Nabateans - because that’s what Sothis’ kids called themselves - to create Crests and their bodies to make the Heroes’ Relics. That’s why the relics are impossible to safely use without a Crest. Only those ‘blessed’ with the bloodlines of the gods have the power to withstand Sothis’ rage at the defilement of her children.” Sarcasm drips heavy from the word “blessed” and you can’t help but share the sentiment - is it truly a blessing to have a bloodline that was created and stained by the death of the goddess’s children? 

It’s an odd ending, and the story itself feels off, but trying to ask Sothis proves futile; the progenitor god is unusually silent within your mind. The quiet feels mournful, but it could just be the mood of Claude’s story. The thought that one sinister being could bring about the near-extinction of Sothis and her children is devastating and hits you with the need to protect…  _ something _ .

“Of course, Saint Seiros defeated Nemesis in the War of Heroes and until recently the Sword of the Creator laid dormant beneath the monastery.” Claude tries to lighten the mood and though he fails, you give him a half-hearted smile. Looking at the rest of the Golden Deer, it’s painfully obvious Claude’s addendum missed its mark. Just when you think it might be best to assign watch shifts and send everyone to bed, Linhardt speaks up:

“I have a story that’s just as dark, if you’re interested.”

The offer hangs in the air. Though  _ you _ are curious, you’re content to let the students decide; it  _ is _ their mission after all, you’re just there to supervise. You’re shocked when Lysithea’s voice is heard.

“I am interested! As disturbing as church legends are, they are surely based in some form of fact, and it is important we learn all we can.” Lysithea’s never-ending quest for knowledge makes you smile; she’s taming her fears for information. Leonie and Raphael both express interest as well, and with an approving nod from you, he begins his tale.

“Much like Claude’s legend, most of this I’ve pieced together from lines hidden deep within the church’s archives, the books they reside in mostly removed from the library since. Probably to keep outsiders - those not in the Church’s inner circle - from knowing. As it is, there is a relic called the Chalice of Beginnings. Rumors say it can bring anyone back to life, but the texts I found stated it was meant to give the goddess Sothis her physical form. When the ritual was first attempted, it failed. 

“The Chalice is much like our Relics and requires crests to work - specifically the four lost Crests of the Apostles; Noa, Chevalier, Tomotheos, and Aubin. Seiros led the ritual - called the Rite of Rising - and the four Apostles gave their blood for their goddess’s cause. However, blood alone was not enough; the Chalice wanted their lives.” Though you have only seen Linhardt read dusty Crest textbooks, he knows how to tell a story; his purposeful pause has each of his classmates on the edge of their seats. Claude looks like he’s trying to figure out a particularly difficult puzzle, his eyes focused on Linhardt’s face. Marianne has tears in her eyes, Hilda by her side trying to be comforting - which is amusing, as Hilda does not often come across as compassionate. Leonie is glaring daggers at the flame, and it’s not hard to imagine her planning some attack against the Chalice, as if it were a person she could take down with her lance. 

Raphael has stopped his eating, instead looking at Linhardt with shock; he obviously hadn’t expected the story to demand  _ that _ . Lorenz is green, much like Marianne had been; you can vaguely make out him mumbling about “less-than-savory church stories.” Lysithea is frowning deeply at Linhardt, almost as though she blames  _ him _ for the horrific loss of life, and Ignatz just looks lost, his fingers twitching; probably needing to sketch, he always has used art to process things he couldn’t easily sort. 

Your heart aches at the suffering they’ve gone through, your students and beloved friends, and the ever-present feeling that something terrible is coming gnaws once more at your stomach, but you push it back yet again, refusing to let the nameless dread overshadow the feeling of safety you have with your Deer.

“Though the Apostles were willing to sacrifice themselves for the return of Sothis, Seiros would not allow it. She hid the Chalice deep within the monastery, behind walls both magical and physical; it’s said that only those bearing the Crests of the Apostles can unearth the Chalice. Which is unfortunate, seeing as those are the  _ lost _ crests.” 

He pauses again, lamenting their loss, then shrugs it off and continues, “Seiros also sent the Apostles from the monastery to create and cultivate their own lands. Three of them created what are now the Adrestian Empire, Leicester Alliance, and Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, but no one knows where the fourth Apostle went; they simply disappeared from history.”

Though on the surface the tale isn’t as unnerving as Claude’s, the fact that a relic requires not one but  _ four _ lives sacrificed is sinister; though you’re not particularly fond of Seiros, from what you know of her, you do feel a dash of respect that she didn’t allow her followers to sacrifice themselves for her foolish dream of resurrecting her mother.

Your students are more animated in response to this, discussing their theories. Linhardt looks proud and quickly gets roped into conversation with Claude and Lysithea, though you can’t hear what about; Crest history, presumably. Seeing your group bonding leaves you with a warm feeling of home that you haven’t felt in a long time, and you settle in for a long night of wild theories and lively - if somewhat blasphemous - discussion. As you watch the sparks from the fire float into the sky, it’s hard not to wonder how much of the stories is truth.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the lore behind the relics and I wrote this shortly after I finished the DLC for three houses so I made sure to add in the chalice lore too because I HAD TO.


End file.
